250 



Now with reference to the schemes which have been promoted, 

 the first by Mr. Bateman, for supplying London with water from 

 enormous storage reservoirs formed on the flanks of the mountain 

 ranges of Cader Idris and Plynhmmon, in North Wales; as well 

 as that of Messrs. Hemans and Hassaed, who propose for their 

 gathering-grounds the mountain ranges of Westmoreland and 

 Cumberland, adjoining the lakes of Haweswater, TJllswater, and 

 Thirlmere. 



It must be remembered that both schemes start with a much 

 larger rainfall than any on the Cotteswolds. Mr. Bateman 

 gays: — "A summit, ridge, or line of watershed, of irregular 

 height, and direction extending from north to south, is crossed 

 and broken by several parallel ranges of mountains extending 

 from south-west to north-east, the intervening valleys on the 

 west side of this irregular summit being quite open to the 

 westerly winds. The valleys on this side, walled in as they 

 are by mountains rising at their peaks to 2500 and 2900 feet in 

 height, and so, raising their heads above the general level of 

 the rain-clouds, form, as it were, so many funnels, up which the 

 the clouds are driven over the low passes at the summit line of 

 watershed into the valleys on the east, where, sheltered from 

 the wind, they discharge the bulk of their watery contents," and 

 he concludes by saying, " From all these observations and from 

 many others which might be brought to bear upon the subject, 

 we shall be quite justified in assuming 45 inches as the annual 

 net produce of two or three successive dry years upon the 

 drainage ground from which I propose to collect water for the 

 supply of London ; but in order to be within perfectly safe 

 limits I base my calctJations on 36 inches only, being but 10 

 per cent, more than the observed results at the Manchester 

 Waterworks, and probably only half the gross amount of rain." 

 Messrs. Hemans and Hassakd say, in their published report, 

 the area from which water is herein proposed to be collected, 

 extends over 177 square miles, the altitudes varying from 500 

 to 3,200 feet above the sea. These, however, are the extremes, 

 the mean altitude will probably be 1300 or 1400 feet above the 

 sea level. They publish a variety of retiirns of rainfall from 



